It was 22 years ago today that Kellye Cash won the Miss America 1987 pageant. A year later, the weekend after giving up her crown, she was in La Crosse to emcee the Miss Oktoberfest pageant.

Saturday she came back.
Cash, who has a career in musical theater and travels the country performing in the one woman musical “Always … Patsy Cline,” is the niece of legendary singer/songwriter Johnny Cash.

“I saw the entertainment side,” Cash said of coming from a famous singing family. “I saw how Johnny was treated, and I really saw how he walked on the stage confidently and had a charisma that I wanted.”

That confidence and charisma earned her the Miss America title, and the experience has led her to continue to emcee three to four state pageants every year, as well as several local ones.

The best part, she said, is meeting the young women.

“I enjoyed meeting them and seeing their talents,” Cash said, “and seeing how the pageant had evolved

over the years. They’re outstanding young women.”

She said the six contestants in this year’s Miss La Crosse/Oktoberfest pageant have been a particular pleasure to meet and learn about their lives, platforms and education.

“This is small local (pageant),” she said, “but they are all outstanding and so talented.”

Cash showed off her own talent by singing Martina McBride’s “Always” and “Gold,” made famous by Linda Eder’s recording, at Saturday night’s pageant.

She said the pageant experience is a wonderful opportunity and sometimes people don’t understand that.

“It gives you such vital experience for life,” she said. “Getting on stage, being interviewed for 12 minutes when judges can ask you any question in the world. It’s a fabulous experience for job interviews in the future — for a career in public life.”

It also gives the young women the chance to find out what kind of community service they’re interested in because they have to choose a platform, or cause, to compete on.

“It has evolved into a wonderful opportunity for young women to think about it at an early time in their life,” she said.